July 25, 2009

Now, to continue with my idiosyncratic review of fashion at the Farmers Market in Madison this morning:

1. Men in Shorts is a complex subject, and some men do better than others:

Note that the 2 men in shorts are both wearing black socks, yet only one is making a bad mistake. The other one is doing it right. Plus, carrying a kid on your shoulders is a good look for a nonsleazy guy.

It is entirely possible that the baby is critically evaluating his father’s shorts. It is also possible that he is merely trying to think of a joke that tastefully alludes to paternal underwear and somehow works in a reference to Fruit-of-the-Loins.

(2) Regarding photo #2:

A guy walks into a doctor’s office with a toad stuck to the top of his head.

One school of thought says that men should never wear socks with shorts. I'm usually skeptical of "never" rules but by and large have to agree with this one.

As for the man with the baby on his shoulders, according to a well-known sex blogger it is a sign of Betaness for a man to carry a child in public. I will point out, however, that the man in this picture looks quite Alpha, and the woman to his right, presumably his wife, is a solid 7 at least.

Query: Do people going to the Madison Farmer's Market on a lazy summer Saturday morning do so with any expectation whatsoever that they will be surreptitiously photographed with the photos posted on a widely read national if not international blog, with commentary, sometimes snarky, about their fashion sense?

Spent one week in Hilton Head last week. Did not bring long pants. Polo shirt, shorts, boat shoes. Went to several high level resturants and most people were dressed my way. Life is different in the heat.

Query: Do people going to the Madison Farmer's Market on a lazy summer Saturday morning do so with any expectation whatsoever that they will be surreptitiously photographed with the photos posted on a widely read national if not international blog, with commentary, sometimes snarky, about their fashion sense?

Have you considered that? Not dissing on you Althouse. Just asking

Yes, there is a BIG sign there, and they make you sign written waivers before they let you into the Farmer's Market. So everyone knows, when they come, that they are at risk of, and consent to, being snarked about, not only on this blog, but on nationwide radio if Rush, as he is sure to do, picks this up for comment.

I noticed now that it is pointed-out to me that the man with the kid on his shoulders is wearing shorts. This first thing I noticed about him was his huge metal right leg! That giant ball-bearing probably wouldn't fit into any normal pant legs anyway.

I like the tie-dyed shirt on the guy but the dinky purse/backpack kind of ruins the look.

The hippie-chick in the bright pink and green really does pull this off. If she was 30 lbs heavier it would be a day-glow nightmare.

"I'll stick with farmer's markets in Kentucky and Tennessee where you'll see real farmers and real country women."

Indeed. You'd never seen anything like that at my Tuesday/Friday FARMER'S market here in Murfreesboro. Farmers set up by 7. Women come to get our corn and cucumbers and tomatoes. All the good stuff sold out by 9.

Hippie boy in pink is doing the walk of shame home from the 80s party, the same one day glo girl was at. But he refuses to totally fag himself up in 80s wear, so the brightness of the pink is all he could muster as a hat tip to the 80s. He actually fornicated with day glo girl, drunk and sloppy like, but they've both forgotten each other's names already.

The pic of 2 chicks, the one on the right in flannel and khakis and socks with birkis, is a lesbian. Her subaru is parked on the next block over.

As Althouse's pic #2 shows, men can look good in shorts and men can look bad in shorts. Jsut as people can look good or bad in any sort of clothes. This ridiculous crap about how men should never wear shorts is beyond silly. Frankly, I think Althouse wears too many long skirts that look like curtains. What's up with that? Men like wearing shorts. Deal with it. Many are restricted enough as it is in what we can wear at work. Let us wear something we feel more comfy in when we are at a farmer's market. Dear Lord.

BTW, I don't see what is praisable about the lady to the right in the "this two women are so charming" pic. Besides the fact she is dressing in completely asexual fashion, she looks pathetic dressing like that when it's clearly (by looking at how everyone else is dressed) a very warm day. I bet she has hairy legs under those pants, too.

Backpacks like the guy in the last pic is sporting are very trendy right now, but I think it looks very...gay. (I don't mean that in an "anti-homosexual" way; it just seems "gay" is the best word to describe it.)

But, then, it's hard to make rules about these things. I saw a dude sporting a female Gucci purse in very cool fashion yesterday. Very few men could've done that without looking ridiculous. But it looked cool on HIM. I dunno...it's hard to make rules about things.

The man's a fool. There is nothing hotter than a strong-looking man holding a baby. Nothing.

I believe the Althousian position on shorts, as revealed by who she likes and who she hates in shorts, is best summarized as "Men should not wear shorts if they look like big old toddlers in shorts." Which, you have to admit, does apply to most men in shorts. Somehow women in shorts never look childish, but men....

Penny, I've found it impossible to find cotton shorts that reach even close to my knees (I'm 6'2", 34" inseam, 32" waist). The only "long" shorts around here are those horrible polyester basketball shorts, which would turn me into a fetid swamp.

Being over 60 and decidedly not thin, I am sure I am not someone you'd approve of wearing shorts. But I do often wear Bermuda-type shorts, in no small part because in my area it has lately only occasionally "cooled off" to the high 90s.